The Place that You Left
by Jormus
Summary: It's been over two years since Jim managed to rescue Enrique but was left trapped in the Darklands. Toby has not yet given up hope on finding him.


"Are you headed over to Dr. Lake's house?" Claire asked as they cycled home from school.

"Yeah," Toby replied. He held out the bag he had been balancing precariously on his handlebars. "I got this mousse cake. I'm going to head into Jim's room and drop it through the fetch there."

Clare was quiet for a moment.

"Do you really think he'll find it? It's been over two years. How do we still know he's even alive?"

Toby had to clamp down on an angry retort. They'd had this argument before. Despite her doubts Claire was still looking. She was just scared… like he was.

"The amulet hasn't chosen someone else," Toby said. "He has to be."

"Yeah, but half of it is trapped in the Darklands. What if that messed with how it works?"

"Maybe, but I doubt it." Toby's jaw clenched and he peddled a little faster. "Besides I'm not giving up on Jim."

"Sorry," Claire said quietly after a moment. Out of the corner of his eye Toby could see her shoulders slump a little. "Mom was at me again last night. She keeps telling me that I need to move on."

She tensed, eyes narrowing as she glared at the road ahead of her.

"NotEnrique tried to come over and she threw him out. Literally. They found out I've been letting him sleep under my bed."

"Oh," Toby said.

He didn't know how to respond to that.

After the bridge had been destroyed they had to choice but to tell Barbara the truth about what happened to Jim. There was simply no way to keep up the ruse. She had been shocked, then horrified, then angry, then terrified and furious. Draal had to vacate her house for a week or so while she processed.

After she had finally come to terms with what happened she had told their guardians. Nana had taken it so well. She was proud of Toby. She even called him her "little hero".

Claire's parents on the other hand… Not so much.

They had grounded Claire, forbidding her from going to Trollmarket or even seeing Toby. Claire had responded by promptly running away and camping out in Blinky's library. It had taken a lot of convincing for both sides to compromise. Even now Claire and her parents, mostly her mom, were on shaky ground.

They reached the turn to Claire's house and stopped.

"So are you coming down to Trollmarket tonight?" Toby asked. "I hear Bagdwella made some salty niblets, to thank us for helping her out last week."

Claire sighed.

"I wish I could, but I've agreed to start taking some running start classes as part of the deal with my parents."

"It's cool," Toby said. "Want me to wish Jim a happy birthday for you?"

"Sure," She said giving him a sad smile.

"See you tomorrow?"

"Definitely," Claire said, squaring her shoulders. "Us Trollhunters stick together. Not even my parents can change that."

* * *

Toby unlocked the door to the Lakes' house and slipped inside.

"Dr. L? Are you home?"

There was no response. She must either be at work or Blinky's library or sleeping. Toby decided to be as quiet as possible just in case. Dr. Lake's chronic bad sleeping habits were getting worse. She really needed all the rest she could get.

Toby slipped upstairs and into Jim's room. He settled onto the bed with a sigh and just lay there for a moment. He couldn't say the room was just how Jim had left it. The fight with Angor Rot had trashed it a little too thoroughly, but they had tried to make it close. Toby didn't come here quite as often any more. It hurt too much. Some days he wondered how he was able to keep going.

After several minutes had passed Toby hefted himself upright and fished the fetch out of his backpack along with a periscope. When Dr. L had found out he was sticking his head into another dimension without knowing what was on the other side she had freaked out again. To be fair that was justified.

Really justified.

On his third time using a periscope to peer into the Darklands, it had been promptly eaten by… _something_… Toby wasn't sure what. He had just seen a flash of blue before it was pulled out of his hands. He had never mentioned the incident to anyone.

Toby stuck the periscope through and began to look around.

Rocks. Glowing green rocks. More rocks. Something glowing red. More rocks…

Wait…

Heart in his throat, Toby flung the periscope away and stuck his head through the portal instead.

It was Jim.

He looked so different from the last time Toby had seen him. He was pale, deathly pale. Jim had never been tan; he sunburned far too easily for that, but now there was no color in his skin. The sickly green light wasn't helping. He was still wearing the black and red eclipse armor, but he was now taller and more angular. His exposed face was crisscrossed with scars and his nose was crooked. He stared at Toby like a dying man in the desert seeing water.

"Toby," He breathed out. His voice was lower, rougher.

Toby found himself lost for words, but nodded shakily.

Jim took a step toward him, hands outstretched and shaking before he froze. His eyes widened then narrowed, jaw tightening. He shook his head.

"No, no, no. I'm not falling for this. This is some stupid magic thing."

His hand reached toward Eclipse, which was attached to his back and Toby flinched.

"It's me, I swear!" Toby wished his hands were there so he could hold them out.

Jim made no response, sword in front of him, face cold.

Something moved beyond Jim. A figure detached itself from the shadows behind him. A very familiar figure: an angular pink changeling.

"Look out!" Toby screamed.

He had just found Jim; he couldn't have him slaughtered in front of him!

Jim turned but not completely, allowing him to see the threat without letting Toby out of his peripherals. Upon making eye contact with the approaching changeling a little bit of tension left Jim's shoulders.

"Nomura," He said, sounding relieved.

He turned back toward watching Toby suspiciously.

"Can you see him too? Do you have any idea what this is?" His voice was still taught.

Nomura looked at him and her eyes widened.

"A fetch."

Jim glanced at her in surprise.

"How can you tell? I thought he might be a hallucination or a trap of some sort."

"Look at the green glow around his neck."

He did. Toby didn't dare say anything.

"So… So He… It's… That's… That's really Toby?" Jim breathed out.

Jim's sword was slowly drooping to touch the ground.

"Looks like it," Nomura responded.

Eclipse vanished in a puff of red smoke as Jim threw himself at Toby. In a second Toby's head was enveloped in his friend's arms. It was really weird but not a feeling he would have traded for anything.

After a second he felt Jim start to shake. Something warm and hot dripped into his hair. Tears. That was fine, Toby was crying, too. He could hardly believe this was real. After all this time he had finally found his friend.

"I… I thought I'd never see you again," Jim whispered, voice rough, small and broken. "I'm sorry. So… so sorry. Fuck. I shouldn't have left you guys."

Toby's hands, on the wrong side of the portal, desperately grasped, trying to hold the friend he couldn't reach. It was frustrating being this close, but so so very far away.

"Hey. It's…"

He couldn't say it was okay. It wasn't. Jim had left them. Hurt them. It was not okay, but that didn't mean they couldn't fix it.

"You're here. I'm here. We can figure something out," He said at last pushing his face into Jims shoulder.

Jim drew back a little without letting go to look at him. Beyond him Toby could see Nomura looking in the other direction, one of her Khopesh in hand as she surveyed their surroundings.

"How?" Jim asked.

"We can collaborate!" Toby said. "We have the bridge. We can get you out!"

"I… How…"

Jim stopped speaking. He ran a hand through his hair. It was shorter than Toby had ever seen it; cut unevenly, as if Jim had done it himself. He probably had.

"We have to keep moving here," Jim said finally. "If we stay in one place to long_ He_ will find us."

Toby didn't have to ask who "He" was. He did have a different question.

"We?"

"The resistance," Jim said. "Not all Gum-Gums are enamored by Gunmar. I joined the resistance for a little while before I rescued Enrique and then afterward they liberated me, Nomura, and a few other prisoners from Gunmar. They've been training me."

He snorted and then ran a hand across his cheek.

"That's where most of my scars are from," He paused, one hand darting up to scratch ruefully at his neck. "Well that's not quite true… a couple are from trying to shave with Eclipse."

"Are you almost done?" Nomura interrupted. "Hurry up and exchange contact information. We really need to get going."

Jim perked up, eyes widening slightly.

"That's it!"

His left gauntlet disappeared revealing a pale wrist and his watch.

"Is it three o' five there?" Jim asked.

Toby nodded.

"Perfect, I'm shocked this thing is still accurate," Jim said. "We can meet again here at the same time tomorrow and figure out a way to communicate."

"Yeah… Yes!" Toby said. They _would _make this work.

Jim's gauntlet reappeared.

"Well, I should be going," Jim said reluctantly.

There was a distant roar that caused him and Nomura to flinch.

Jim gave Toby's head one last hug and shoved him back through the portal.

It was not until his breathing calmed down that Toby realized he had never given Jim his cake.

* * *

**Author Note:**

**I've had this sitting in my drafts for quite some time so I figured I might as well post it.**

**This borrows from the Trollhunters Novel: _Into the Darklands_**


End file.
